Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Given New $71.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised Occidental Petroleum’s price target to $71 from $69 while maintaining an “equal weight” rating, implying approximately 17% upside from the stock’s $60.66 price.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Occidental has 12 Buy ratings and 15 Holds, with a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $66.08.
• Occidental reported strong quarterly results, earning $2.40 per share versus the $1.83 estimate and generating $8.06 billion in revenue, up 53.4% year over year.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $69.00 to $71.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "equal weight" rating on the oil and gas producer's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective points to a potential upside of 17.04% from the stock's current price.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on OXY. Susquehanna raised their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Occidental Petroleum from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Tuesday. Seaport Research Partners started coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial increased their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $75.00 to $71.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 17th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Occidental Petroleum presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $66.08.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of OXY traded down $0.74 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $60.66. 3,626,278 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,063,939. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.38, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.24. The business has a 50-day moving average of $59.18 and a 200 day moving average of $57.28. Occidental Petroleum has a one year low of $38.80 and a one year high of $67.45.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.57. The firm had revenue of $8.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.07 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 15.31% and a net margin of 28.36%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 53.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.39 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Occidental Petroleum will post 6.20 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of OXY. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 67.4% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,849,248 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $157,620,000 after acquiring an additional 1,146,828 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Oklahoma bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter valued at $216,000. Mainsail Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the third quarter valued at about $295,000. Sanders Morris Harris LLC bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,086,000. Finally, XY Planning Network Inc. bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at about $252,000. 88.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Occidental Petroleum

Occidental Petroleum Corporation, commonly known as Oxy, is an energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of oil and natural gas. Its upstream operations are concentrated in the United States, including the Permian and Denver-Julesburg basins, and in selected international regions such as the Middle East and North Africa.

The company also operates midstream and marketing businesses that support the gathering, processing, transportation and sale of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.